OTOH, it ,may be reassuring that the barbed wire is there, if the neighborhood has issues…
BREE: Include a few photos of the nearby streets and building exteriors (cafes, restaurants, shops, etc.) to give your potential guests a better idea what is within walking distance.
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My overall impression:
You have the bones, but haven’t taken time to finish decorating or think about how guests are likely to use your home. Walk through in your head how you’d stay in the place. Look at the places Airbnb features on their site to see good ideas.
- Both in the bedroom and living room, you have no reading/task lights. You need end tables with reading lights and a place to set a drink.
- Amenities should fit the number of guests you expect in the house. Neither the dining table nor living room have enough seating for a full house of guests (much less extra visitors). The picture with 3 armchairs doesn’t look inviting at all.
- You have a beautiful outdoor space and no chairs, table, or other way for your guests to enjoy it. (Airbnb suggests this other listing near you. I’d book them for their outdoor table and nicely staged bedroom: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/8767794)
- Read up on how to improve your decor. Your place looks very severe because you only have the most basic furnishings. Check out onechicretreat for tips. http://1chicretreat.com/the-one-bizarrely-effective-color-secret-you-need-to-know-now-for-your-vacation-rental/
- Your pictures are too dark and uninviting. Take outdoor pictures on a nice day - show your place on the best “blue-sky” beautiful day. Remove duplicate pictures. Add a floorplan so guests can understand where their room is. Sharing with other guests, I’d want to know if my bedroom were right next to the kitchen/living room or tucked in a quiet corner. (https://www.roomsketcher.com/ works well for this)
- Stage your indoor pics so as a guest I want to walk in and spend my vacation there. Bedrooms are important: if you fail at making the bedroom look inviting, guests will look at another place. Your bed picture says you don’t care at all. It’s badly made with pillows thrown around and two small, mismatched rugs underneath it that look like bath mats. As a guest, it makes me think “If they can’t even make it pretty for an advertising photo, how terrible will it be for me?”
Everyone has already pointed out that you have this mis-classified. You’re saying it’s a whole house, but it’s actually a private room listing with shared spaces. You should have 4 listings: 1 for each room and one for a whole-house rental. Synch the calendars so if you book the house the individual room calendars are blocked.
It’s a great start (pretty property!) but you need to fine-tune some things.
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@Bree My Biggest suggestion is Get Smoke Detectors! Carbon monoxide detector is also a good thing. But seriously, smoke detectors are extremely important whether they are required by law in your area or not!
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Put artwork or photography on walls. Maybe some local artists if your target market is tourists.
Put some colorful throw pillows on the sofas, that coordinate with the artwork.
Get a kettle and coffeemaker. If you already have them, show them in the listing.
Maybe some outdoor chairs, since it looks like you have a nice lawn.
I second the smoke detector. Never underestimate the dumb things guests will do in your place
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I looked at the listing after you updated. Does it have a private bathroom or shared bathroom? Need to make it clear one way or another. Also, since you are separately renting 3 private rooms in the same house, you should have 3 separate listings. It would be nice to see all 3.
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You need to remove the word “residence” from the listing title because while it doesn’t say “whole” house it’s confusing. You need a title like “Private Room #1 with ensuite bath in Makindye”. Each room needs a separate listing.
I realize that you don’t provide either heat or air conditioning, but do your rooms have fans? If so, you should note them in amenities, but if you do remember that if they are not working that could be cause for cancellation by the guest.
Even if smoke/carbon monoxide alarms are not common in Uganda, I’m certain that they must be available, and you really should install them. Combo battery operated smoke+carbon dioxide alarms with a 5 year battery life are available. Even if you have no heating, if you allow smoking that can cause fires, and an improperly operating gas cooker in the kitchen can create carbon monoxide.
You need to add dishes, linens, etc. to kitchen/dining room photos. Photos of black chairs viewpoint is too low chairs look foreboding rather than comfortable. Living room needs an area rug to soften it and add color. Each room needs its own wide angle photos, and beds need to be fully made. Bedrooms need area rugs near beds. You need several photos of kitchen, from wider angles. Each room needs wide angle photos of its bathroom and you must include linens and a picture of the shower. Rooms always need to be shown as ready, including bed linens and towels. And what’s behind the concrete wall behind the house? A railway? An expressway? An airport?
I notice that you don’t say no smoking. I would suggest that you try it as a non-smoking rental at the beginning, and if your bookings are good, keep it that way. I always look for non-smoking AirBnBs when I travel, and more and more travelers do.
There. I hope that’s useful.
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Hi @Bree Im not sure what you changed it all seems the same to me. You still have it at 50$ for the entire bungalow
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Bree, a week later and it is still showing $50/night for the whole house and it says you “leave” there. I think you mean “live” there and then it’s not the whole house. It also looks like you may already have bookings and are in for some trouble when they arrive and don’t get the whole house.
You mention opting for exclusive or shared occupancy but there are no details and no other listings to book it any other way. You are not ready to have this listing live and I feel for you the hassle you have invited upon yourself.
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